Holtec CEO Says Firm Will Go Public
Terrestrial Energy and Ameresco to Develop IMSR Plants
New York to Build New Nuclear Plant at Upstate Site
AI Software Giant Palantir and The Nuclear Company Partner to Develop Reactor Construction Software
Hexium Partners with Oklo, TerraPower, to Produce HALEU
Terra Innovatum Signs Partnership with Paragon Energy Solutions
IAEA And World Bank Agree To Cooperate On Nuclear Power
Holtec CEO Says Firm Will Go Public Later This Year
According to a report in Barrons, a financial news service, Holtec CEO Krishna Singh told Barrons on 06/23/25 that the firm plans to go public within the next few months. According to Barrons, the firm could be worth $10 billion. Singh told Barrons the company will use proceeds from the equity sale to help it expand construction of small modular reactors.
Singh did not mention any potential investors not any other specifics about the IPO. Instead, he told Barrons, “The real driver for us is we are on our own calendar. We’re going to be building, we think, in the next decade 10-20 small modular reactors at the same time.”
In addition to plans to build SMRs in the US, Holtec also marketed SMRs in Ukraine and India. The firm was not selected in the UK as part of an SMR competition and has reportedly scaled back its presence there.
According to the Barrons report, the IPO may be one the largest nuclear-energy offerings in years, giving investors one of the few pure-play ways of buying into the industry. Unlike some other nuclear firms developing SMRs, Holtec already produces substantial revenue from activities like decommissioning nuclear plants and handling nuclear waste.The firm manufactures casks for storage of spent nuclear fuel. It is decommissioning several closed nuclear power plants and is restarting one in Michigan.
Restart of Palisades Nuclear Plant
Holtec is currently working to restore revenue service at a previously shut down nuclear reactor at the Palisades site on the shore of Lake Michigan. The firm’s efforts are supported by a federal loan worth $1.5 billion. This week the Department of Energy issued the latest block of funds to the firm worth $100 million.
Since September 2024 DOE has issued $252 million in guaranteed loan funds to Holtec to help pay for the reopening as it continues to make important milestones toward plant restart, including the NRC’s issuing a final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.
Plans to Build SMRs
In addition to the restart of the reactor, Holtec also has plans to build two 300 MW PWR type small modular reactors at the site. The firm for some years worked on a 160 MW SMR, but last December shifted gears to a 300 MW design. Holtec said it is already building the equipment for the 300 MW SMRs in conjunction with Hyundai Engineering & Construction. Licensing the uprated SMR design with the NRC is several years in the future.
In his interview with Barrons, Singh said each of the 300 MW SMRs could cost about $3 billion each to construct. Singh said he is open to Holtec operating the units themselves, or selling them to third parties.
“The capital needed for that is enormous,” he said, which accounts for the IPO.
Seth Grae, CEO of nuclear fuel company Lightbridge, told Barrons, “It’s a more mature company with more revenue than others that have gone public.” This puts it well ahead of other SMR developers which have little revenue or none at all.
Grae agreed that Holtec will probably be worth over $10 billion, and said that the company should see considerable appetite from investors.
“They’re doing it at exactly the right moment,” he said. “There’s so much investor interest in nuclear.”
Barrons reported that Holtec International has annual profits of more than $500 million, according to a person familiar with the company’s results. The firm currently is privately held and does not report its earnings.
& & &
Terrestrial Energy and Ameresco to Develop IMSR Plants
Terrestrial Energy Inc., a developer of small modular nuclear plants using advanced reactor technology, announced a collaboration with Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE: AMRC), an energy solutions provider, to advance the commercial deployment of Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR plant. The collaboration covers site identification and IMSR plant project development, design, licensing, construction, operation at multiple sites across the United States. The firm did not identify customers nor potential sites for additional IMSR projects with or without natural gas.
The collaboration is strategically focused on delivering customized energy for data center and industrial customers with Ameresco’s expertise in energy systems’ design, integration and operation.
Integration of energy systems is expected to include the first use of a natural gas-fired energy as a bridge to IMSR nuclear plant operations to enable electricity delivery to data center customers well in advance of IMSR nuclear systems being completed and brought to commercial operation.
In general, this strategy is likely to be repeated in other partnerships with SMR developers and data centers. The timeline for light water SMRs to enter the market is 2028 or later. The timeline for advanced reactors, of all types, to be available to customers is also the end of this decade or more likely the early 2030s.
In the meantime, data centers needing enormous amounts of electricity to support artificial intelligence applications will rely on natural gas. The question for SMR developers of both types is whether once the gas power plants are built, whether there will be space in the market for nuclear energy. The timeline for depreciation for these gas plants may further delay entry of SMRs into this sector.
Terrestrial Energy said in its press statement the IMSR plant can be used for data center and industrial applications due to the IMSR plant’s thermal, steam and electric supply systems being remote and isolated from the plant’s regulated nuclear systems, unlike conventional nuclear plants that use Light Water Reactor technology. As a result, these remote and isolated systems can be customized with other energy systems, such as natural gas.
The announcement builds on recent commercial momentum, including Terrestrial Energy’s selection by Texas A&M University to site a commercial IMSR plant at its RELLIS campus. The company completed Canada’s CNSC Vendor Design Review – the first Generation IV reactor design to achieve this milestone. According to information on the NRC’s website, Terrestrial Energy is in pre-licensing engagement with the agency through the submission of topical reports.
& & &
New York to Build New Nuclear Plant at Upstate Site
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced this week that the state is planning to build a 1,000 MW nuclear power plant at an as yet unnamed location although an upstate site adjacent to the state’s three other operating nuclear reactors is an attractive choice as grid connections are already in place.
The governor said the New York Power Authority will immediately begin evaluation of technologies, business models, and locations for this first nuclear power plant and will secure the key partnerships needed for the project. Assuming the project attains a final investment decision and breaks ground before the end of this decade, it will be in the mid-to-late 2030s before a plant is in revenue service.
The governor did not say how much the plant would cost or how long it would take to build. She added that the state would seek private sector investors. At $9,000/kw in constant dollars a complete plant would come in at $9 billion. She added that the New York Power Authority, a state-owned utility, would manage the project.
The planning process will include site and technology feasibility assessments as well as consideration of financing options, in coordination with the forthcoming studies included in the master plan for Responsible Advanced Nuclear Development in New York. Candidate locations will be assessed for suitability based on public safety, strength of community support, compatibility with existing infrastructure, as well as skilled labor and land availability.
The New York Times reported that manufacturing interests in Syracuse are interested in the new reactor to power a semiconductor plant expected to be built by Micron. Syracuse is a mere 43 miles south of Oswego which means the region could benefit from power supplied by a new reactor there.
Currently, there are three operating nuclear power plants in the state – Nine Mile Point (1,285 MW) in Oswego, R. E. Gina (580 MW) in Ontario. The Fitzpatrick plant, 813 MW, is also located in Oswego. All three are managed by Constellation.
Separately, Constellation is working on an early site permit for an SMR to be built at the Nine Mile nuclear plant.
History of Opposition to Nuclear Energy in New York
It is expected that given the history of opposition to nuclear power plants located near the New York city metro area that Hochul will favor a site as far away as possible from it. As the crow flies, Oswego is about 300 miles north of the tri-state area and is located on the shores of Lake Ontario. Putting a fourth reactor there would be an “out of sight, out of mind” strategy that would likely dampen efforts by green groups to rally opposition from members in the NY-NJ-CT tri-state area.
Interest groups supporting investment in renewable energy projects immediately criticized the governor’s plan claiming the reactor will not be cost competitive for ratepayers. Environmental groups echoed this position.
The State of New York has a sad history of shutting down nuclear power plants. Hochul’s predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, tilting to green groups led by Riverkeeper, in 2021 forced the shut down Entergy’s twin Indian Point plants located on the Hudson River just north of the New York metro area. The two reactors, at 2,100 MW each, provided about 25% of the power needed by the New York metro area. Hochul, at the time the Lt. Governor for New York, was critical of Cuomo’s action.
On the other hand, the New York Post wrote in an editorial, “New York has no hope of coming near meeting any of its clean-energy goals without nuclear power — and indeed is already hard-pressed for enough generating capacity to meet the natural growth in electric demands.”
“In November 2010 an invited OP ED in the New York Daily News, coauthored by this blog and Gwyneth Cravens, laid out the fact that Cuomo ignored the reality that the twin reactors were the main source of electricity for the New York City region’s hundreds of miles of electrified subways and commuter railways serving the tri-state area. The article also pointed out that there was no plan for replacing the power lost by closing the reactors and that natural gas plants, with their CO2 emissions, would eventually have to be built to service the power needs of the region.
The Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant was completed in 1984 located adjacent to Long Island Sound in East Shoreham, New York. The plant faced considerable public opposition after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident and later after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. After years of protests, and a manufactured crisis over evacuation plans in event of a disaster, the Long Island Lighting Company shut the plant without ever generating power. The $6 billion cost was passed on to ratepayers. They are still paying for it today. D&D of the plant was completed in 1994.
& & &
AI Software Giant Palantir and The Nuclear Company Partner to Develop Reactor Construction Software
Nuclear Operating System (NOS) will achieve on-time, on-budget nuclear construction
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR), located in Denver, CO, a provider of artificial intelligence and enterprise operating systems, announced a strategic product partnership with The Nuclear Company, which is planning to build gigawatt-scale deployment of nuclear power plants notably Westinghouse AP1000 1,150 MW PWRs..
Together, the two companies will co-develop and deploy NOS, the first AI-driven, real-time software system built exclusively for nuclear construction. The two firms claim NOS will transform the construction of nuclear reactors into a data-driven, predictable process, enabling The Nuclear Company to build plants faster and safer for less.
According wire service reports The Nuclear Company will pay Palantir $100 million over the life of the contract to build , operate and support the use of the software across multiple GW class new builds.
The effort is focused on the biggest challenges facing the industry which are that nuclear projects are almost always over budget and behind schedule. To be built on Palantir’s Foundry platform, NOS will simplify the construction process for The Nuclear Company. NOS will provide:
Schedule Certainty: With NOS, construction teams will receive instantaneous, context-aware guidance — from the availability of certain parts and materials to the weather — that adapts to real-time constraints, so teams can work rather than wait.
Cost Savings: A supply chain will track and verify all parts, as well as prevent shipment errors, material shortages and lost documentation. And when delays appear imminent, NOS will initiate backup options or prioritize other work in its place.
Problem Prevention: Sensors placed across construction sites can feed data in real-time to a digital twin model of the site, allowing leaders to track progress with precision and compare what’s actually happening to the original plans. By using predictive analytics, teams can spot potential problems early, catching issues before they become expensive mistakes.
Regulatory Confidence: AI will turn a traditionally labor- and time-intensive task to a process that becomes nearly instantaneous. Large language models can rapidly review tens of thousands of documents, while AI agents trained on regulatory requirements will help validate the data recorded automatically at construction sites.
“The future of energy security and sovereignty will be shaped by our ability to deploy advanced technologies at scale,” said Mike Gallagher, Head of Defense Business at Palantir Technologies. Until now his focus has been on securing defense contracts for Palintir. The deal with The Nuclear Company is the first in the nuclear energy sector for the firm. Gallagher formerly served four terms in Congress as a republican member of the House from Wisconsin.
He said in the Palantir press statement, “This partnership marks the first time Palantir’s software will be used to help power the next generation of nuclear energy infrastructure. By integrating our operating system with The Nuclear Company’s ambitious vision, we are laying the foundation for a new era of resilient, intelligent and secure energy systems in the United States and beyond.”
The latest project in Palantir’s Warp Speed initiative, NOS will be delivered by a dedicated engineering team embedded with The Nuclear Company’s construction and engineering staff. The team will work to unify previously siloed nuclear data across construction, supply chain, workforce, engineering, and safety systems.
“Our mission is to build nuclear power the way America once built its greatest infrastructure projects — fast, safe and at scale,” said The Nuclear Company Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb.
Webb’s press statement includes a reference to US competition with China in the global nuclear energy industry.
“With Palantir, we have a technology partner who shares our sense of urgency and understands that nuclear isn’t just an energy issue — it’s a national security imperative. NOS is how we finally break the cycle of delays, deliver a new energy future, and protect America’s nuclear leadership from China, so we don’t lose it like we did manufacturing decades ago.”
Based in Columbia, SC, the firm is looking at developing multiple Westinghouse AP1000 PWRs. The proximity of the firm’s corporate HQ to the partially built twin AP1000s at the V C Summer site has raised questions whether it could be one of The Nuclear Company’s future projects.
& & &
Hexium Partners with Oklo, TerraPower, to Produce HALEU
Hexium Enters Strategic Collaborations With Oklo And Terrapower To Launch New Pathway For Domestic Haleu Enrichment
The next-generation collaboration will leverage advanced laser enrichment technology to build a scalable U.S. nuclear fuel supply for advanced reactors
Hexium,an isotope enrichment company working on nuclear fuel technology announced strategic collaborations with advanced reactor developers Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) and TerraPower. The goal of the collaboration is to speed up domestic production of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) at industry leading cost targets.
The three companies are collaborating with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to evaluate the potential of Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS), a legacy technology that offers a promising paths to commercial-scale enrichment of HALEU levels of enriched uranium fuel for advanced reactors. Independent benchmarking will be provided by MPR Associates to compare performance against leading enrichment technologies.
With more than a dozen advanced reactor designs progressing toward deployment, the lack of a domestic commercial HALEU supply is widely seen as the most pressing obstacle to scaling the next generation of nuclear energy in the United States.
HALEU enables more compact and efficient reactor designs. The US Department of Energy (DOE) projects a need for up to 40 metric tons annually by the early 2030s just for first fuel loadings for TerraPower and X-Energy, which are part of DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). Presently, there is no sustained domestic production capable of meeting this demand in the near term either for the two ARDP projects nor for all the other advanced reactor development efforts that will also need HALEU either in the form of uranium metal or TRISO fuel elements. Reliance on foreign sources is not an option as it poses U.S. energy security risks.
This initiative brings together a diverse set of capabilities. The collaborating parties are jointly funding and guiding research and development to deliver a validated conceptual design and techno-economic assessment of AVLIS-based HALEU production. This coordinated effort will move AVLIS from the lab into commercial deployment with a focus on domestic production. Hexium’s leading role is that it contributes next-generation laser enrichment technology and deep technical expertise in isotope separation.
Oklo contributes a deployment-focused reactor pipeline along with leadership in the fuel cycle and engineered systems. In October 2024 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approved the conceptual design for Oklo Inc.’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility. The new facility will be located at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and will help turn used material recovered from DOE’s former EBR-II reactor into usable fuel for its advanced nuclear power plant. The newly fabricated fuel will be used to power the initial Aurora powerhouse reactor core at INL. However, the company has ambitions for building multiple reactors in “fleet mode” and all of them will have needs for HALEU fuel.
The Aurora powerhouse is a liquid-metal-cooled fast reactor that is designed to operate on both fresh high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and used nuclear fuel. Oklo has been granted access to 5 metric tons of HALEU as part of a cooperative agreement with INL that was competitively awarded in 2019.
TerraPower brings decades of experience in nuclear innovation and industrial-scale deployment. In October 2024 TerraPower signed a term sheet with ASP Isotopes Inc for the construction of a uranium enrichment facility in South Africa and a supply agreement for fuel delivery for the Natrium small modular reactor. ASP uses an advanced isotope enrichment technique that uses lasers to selectively ionize and separate U235 and U238 isotopes as part of the enrichment process.
Previously in July 2023 TerraPower and Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE: LEU) significantly expanded their collaboration aimed at establishing commercial-scale, domestic production capabilities for high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to supply TerraPower’s first-of-a-kind Natrium reactor and energy storage system.
In October 2022 Global Nuclear Fuel–Americas (GNF-A), a GE-led joint venture, and TerraPower announced an agreement to build the Natrium Fuel Facility at the site of GNF-A’s existing plant site near Wilmington, NC. The Natrium Fuel Facility will be jointly funded by TerraPower and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, which aims to speed the demonstration of advanced reactors through cost-shared partnerships with U.S. industry. The facility represents an investment of more than $200 million.
History of Commercial Efforts for ALVIS
Unlike traditional gas centrifuge-based approaches, AVLIS uses finely tuned lasers to selectively ionize uranium isotopes. Its compact design requires no chemical conversion to uranium hexafluoride (UF6), thus simplifying the system level enrichment process and reducing both infrastructure complexity, process cost, and chemical handling requirements.
This isn’t the first time an effort has been made to commercialize ALVIS enrichment methods. In one of the largest technology transfers in U.S. government history, in 1994 the AVLIS process was transferred to the United States Enrichment Corporation for commercialization. However, on 06/09/99 after a $100 million investment, USEC cancelled its AVLIS program.
In the USEC press statement, J. William Bennett, USEC Vice President of Advanced Technology, who has headed the AVLIS program, said, “Based on the results of a recent series of test runs, we have identified continuing issues that we believe would take at least another year to address satisfactorily and, once addressed, would increase new plant construction costs beyond the previous $2.5 billion estimate. Even if these issues were resolved, the resulting economics, weighed against the market price trends for enrichment, would provide too low a rate of return on investment for the risk involved.”
The company said it would focus future efforts at USEC on Silex laser enrichment process and gas centrifuge technology.
DOE’s Commitments to Laser Enrichment
In May Global Laser Enrichment LLC (GLE) announced the commencement of TRL-6 demonstration testing at its Test Loop facility in Wilmington, NC. GLE’s testing program is expected to be a pivotal validation of large-scale enrichment performance under operationally relevant conditions. Concurrently, GLE plans to leverage the lessons learned from these enrichment test runs to significantly progress the scaling and manufacturing of our full-scale plant systems and equipment.
GLE has the only third generation enrichment technology previously licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is on track to submit the safety report for licensing the plant and its process this summer.
LIS Technologies, as one of six awardees of the DOE LEU acquisition program, said in an email last May to Neutron Bytes it plans to build its first Production Facility for LEU, and potentially also LEU+, by 2033.
“Our goal is to be in production with a 1 million SWU/yr plant in 2031, and then modularly expand it into a 3 million SWU/yr plant by 2032, and finally a 5 million SWU/yr plant by 2033.”
The US-origin laser enrichment technology that LIS Technologies is developing (CRISLA) makes it seamless to switch between LEU and LEU+. Both LEU and LEU+ can be produced in a Category III facility, which has less stringent security requirements than a 10-20% Cat II HALEU enrichment facility.
& & &
Terra Innovatum Signs Partnership with Paragon Energy Solutions
Collaboration to Integrate NRC-Approved Instrumentation and Control (I&C), Safety Systems and Manufacturing Support as Reactor Development Advances Toward 2028 Deployment
Terra Innovatum, a developer of micro-modular nuclear reactors, and GSR III Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: GSRT), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced that Terra Innovatum has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with U.S.-based Paragon Energy Solutions, LLC a supplier of safety-related instrumentation and control (I&C) systems for the nuclear energy sector.
The objective of the deal is to support the design and integration of I&C systems into Terra Innovatum’s micro-modular reactor, SOLO, as well as manufacturing support for its global deployment.
Work has already begun between the engineering teams, and initial planning milestones are underway. The agreement lays the foundation for purchase orders, long-term service contracts, and commercial engagements, signaling a strong mutual commitment to accelerate deployment and scale.
Terra Innovatum recently announced a proposed business combination with GSR III Acquisition Corp., positioning the company to accelerate its mission of delivering zero-carbon, cost efficient, and reliable power.
SOLO is one of several micro reactors designs that will operate on widely available low-enriched Uranium (LEU) (U235 <5%) and is built using commercial off-the-shelf components, streamlining regulatory review and shortening construction timelines. Last Energy has a 20 MW PWR micro reactor design under development which it scaled down from a previous 100 MW profile.
In May, Terra Innovatum submitted an advanced nuclear proposal to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Advanced Nuclear Request for Information (RFI), outlining plans for a potential reactor site, production facility, and deployment opportunities to address New York’s 2040 zero-carbon goal.
Last January Terra Innovatum submitted its regulatory engagement plan (ML25017A401) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The firm said in the plan it intends to apply for a license as a non-power or test reactor which is a different path than for a commercial effort to supply electricity and heat to customers. If the firm wants to seek a Part 50 or Part 52 license for a power generating reactor, it may have to retrace its steps.
The firm said it is currently negotiating with key potential industry partners a Letter of Intent to submit an application for a Construction Permit of the FOAK Research Test Reactor facility to be deployed on a site yet-to-be-determined in the US.
The firm claims that SOLO will be available globally and commercially within the next three years. Achieving this milestone will be a challenge assuming it first builds a test reactor and then pursues a commercial offering.
The plan is to build it from readily available commercial off-the-shelf components. SOLO enables rapid deployment and minimizes supply chain risks, ensuring final cost predictability. Designed to adapt with evolving fuel options, SOLO supports both LEU+ and HALEU, offering a platform ready to transition to future fuel supplies.
SOLO will offer a wide range of versatile applications, providing CO2-free, behind-the-meter, and off-grid power solutions for data centers, mini-grids serving remote towns and villages, and large-scale industrial operations in hard-to-abate sectors like cement production, oil and gas, steel manufacturing, and mining.
It also has the ability to supply heat for industrial applications and other specialized processes, including water treatment, desalination and co-generation.
Based on its 1 MW modular design, SOLO is intended to scale to deliver multiple units providing CO2-free power with a minimal footprint, making it an ideal solution for rapidly replacing fossil fuel-based thermal plants. Beyond electricity and heat generation, SOLO can also contribute to critical applications in the medical sector by producing radioisotopes essential for oncology research and cancer treatment. To learn more, visit: http://www.x-solo.com.
& & &
IAEA And World Bank Agree To Cooperate On Nuclear Power
MOU is ‘sign of world’s return to realism’ and crucial first step for financing reactors
(NucNet) The International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Bank announced this week a new agreement to cooperate on the development and financing of nuclear power for developing countries, including extending the life of existing reactors and speeding up deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs).
IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi and World Bank president Ajay Banga signed on 06/26/254 the memorandum of understanding in Paris that is part of the bank’s return to nuclear energy financing.
The IAEA and the World Bank said in a statement that they agreed to work together to build knowledge in the nuclear field, including expanding the World Bank Group’s understanding of nuclear safety, security, energy planning, and waste management.
The two institutions also said they would work together to extend the lifespan of existing nuclear power plants as a cost-effective source of low-carbon power and accelerate the development of SMRs, saying that they have potential for widespread adoption in developing countries.
Grossi said that the “landmark” agreement was “a sign of the world’s return to realism on nuclear power” and would open the door for other multilateral development banks and private investors to consider nuclear power as a viable tool for energy security.
He called the partnership a “crucial first step” to clearing the financing path for SMR technology, which has the potential to cleanly power developing economies.
In a later social media post, Grossi said the agreement was “a much-needed and timely turning point for nuclear power”. He said the partnership will allow nuclear energy to support development, reduce poverty and help meet soaring global electricity demand.”
Banga said that reliable baseload power provided by nuclear energy was essential for job-generating sectors such as infrastructure, agribusiness, health care, tourism and manufacturing.
“Jobs need electricity. So do factories, hospitals, schools, and water systems. And as demand surges – with AI and development alike – we must help countries deliver reliable, affordable power,” Banga said.
# # #